Infant&#39;s diaper cover



NOV. 13, 1951 W, F, GOWDY 2,575,054

INFANT'S DIAPER COVER Filed April 5*, 195o [fm/enfer Gummi? @a y y@ d @M@ffy/5' Patented Nov. 13,l 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT GFFICE 2,575,054INFAN'rs DIAPER eovEa William F. Gowdy, Milford, Mass., assignor toArcher Rubber Company, Milford, Mass., a corporation of MassachusettsApplication April 5, 1950, Serial No. 154,139

2 Claims. l

This invention relates to garments and more especially a baby pant orcover to be worn over the diaper, having a moisture-resistant inner'side and an attractive outer side.

The principal objects of the invention are to provide a garment whichmay be laid flat beneath the infant for folding about the limbs, thusfacilitating application; which, when applied, will cover the diaperedportion of the body snugly and neatly; and which will have a minimum offastening elements for securing the parts in place without subsequentgaping when the child moves about.

As illustrated the garment is one-piece in extent and consists of twolayers, the inner layer being of a water repellent material such as thinsheet plastic, lrubber' or rubberized cloth and an outer layer of wovenor knitted textile material which affords an attractive finishedsurface, the two layers being joined by stitching throughout theirperipheral edges but otherwise unjoined. This piece is roughly of Tshape, comprising a horizontally elongate body portion of generallyrectangular shape having a substantially straight upper edge and havingconvex lateral edges; a vcrotch portion extending downwardly from thebody portion and symmetrically arranged with respect to the lateraledges of the body portion, said crotch portion having deeply concave,lateral edges which define the leg openings, when the garment is in use,and a front or abdominal portion extending downwardly from the crotchporvtion and having a deeply convex lower edge approximately ahalf-circle in arcuate extent and which intersects the concave edges ofthe crotch portion at substantially right angles. When in use, the rightand left parts of the body portion extend forwardly to wrap about thethighs with the ends of the upper edgev of the body portion meeting infront at waist level and with the upper lateral portions of the elongatebody overlapping the front member of the garment so as to coversubstantial areas of the latter. Only three fasteners are required forholding the garment in the position of use. One of these fastenersunites the upper corners of the body portion to the center of the frontor abdominal portion thereby mum width substantially midway betweenA thewaist and leg fasteners, said maximum width being the sum of thealtitudes of the arcuate edges of the overlapping portions therebyaffording ample opportunity for lateral displacement of the partswithout gape.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference tothe accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation ofthe garment as it would be worn;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the garment opened out flat;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 showing the fasteningelement for the waistband Y portion thereof; and

` fastened thereto.

Referring to the figures and in particular to Fig. 2, there is shown thegarment laid out flat prior to folding about the body of the infant forcovering the diaper. As illustrated the garment is one-piece in extentand consists of two layers, the inner layer being a water-repellentmaterial such as thin sheet plastic, rubber or rubberized cloth and anouter layer of woven or knit textile material which affords anattractive finished surface, the two layers being joined by stitchingthroughout their yperipheral edges but otherwise unjoined. Asillustrated the body portion M of the garment is transversely elongateand substantially rectangular. This body portion has outwardly convex,lateral edges 2D and an upper edge it which is substantiallyrectilinear. The central part of the body portion constitutes therbackof the garment when it is in use, while more or less triangular uppercorner areas i8 of the body portion wrap about the thighs when thegarment is in use and form what are hereafter referred to as the sideand forepart portions. The lateral edges 20 are bowed outwardly orconvex. From the lower part of the body portion the crotch portion 26extends downwardly, being symmetrically disposed as respects the lateraledges 20 of the body portion and having deeply concave lateral edges 28,approximating half-circles in shape and extent. From the lower part ofthe crotch member 26 the front or abdominal portion 22 of the garmentextends,

this'front portion having a lower edge 2li which is deeply convex andwhich intersects the concave edges 23 of the crotch portion atsubstantially right angles, these concave edges also intersecting thelateral edges 20 of the body ,to permit free passage of the stud 34.

:front member 32. be anchored to ,that corner of the garmentat portionat substantially right angles. Along the edge I6 there is stitched anelasticized element 30 and along the edges 28 there are stitchedelasticized elements 32. As thus constructed the garment may be foldedfor placing about the body of the wearer by first placing the infantbuttocks-down on the central part of the flat body portion i4 of thegarment, substantially midway lbetween the Yedges .'26, with the frontpart 22 between the legs, and then bringing the front part 22 upwardlybetween the legs about the crotch and over the abdomen until ythemidpoint of the edge 24 of the front or-abdominal portion issubstantially level with'the upperfed-ge I6 of the body portion. Theside and foreparts I8 are then wrapped forwardly around the thighs ofthe wearer and lapped over the face .of the front part 22 until theedges "20 meet at waist level in a slightly overlapping relationS(Fig.;l). As thus folded the edges extend downwardly `in drape fashionfrom the waist level and at their `lower ends, meet the lowerextremities of the side edges 24.

In accordance with the present invention only three fasteners arerequired for holding the garment in the position of use. As hereillustrated the fastening means for securing the parts in the positionof use are snap fasteners, one of which is located at the front of thewaistband and-one-of which is located at each leg opening.

The fastener which is at the front of the waistband may, for examp1e,-beof the type specifically illustrated in Fig. 3. This fastener comprisesa headed stud 34' anchored by means of base flanges 36 to'thefrontmember 22 of the garment at a point close to the edge of the latterand midway between the right and left ends of said edge. At one endofthe upper edge I6 of the body-portion of the garment, for example at itsrighthand end, as shown in Fig. 2, there is provided a grommet 42 havinga central opening of a size To the opposite or left-hand end of the bodyportion, there is attached a socket member 38 complemental to the stud35 to form a conventional snap fastener, this socket member comprising acap and interlocking ring 40. The lstudilll is long `enough-so that itmay be passed through the grommet i2 and then engaged with the socketAmember 38, thussimultaneously attaching both `ends of the waistband ofthe bodyportion to the If desired, a pull tape Gl may which the socket38is located.

`The snap fasteners for vthe leg'openings are conventional and consistof parts 44 and i6 situated-at theends of the convex edges 28 at oppo-.fsite sides vof the garment.

The front part .22, as heretofore pointed out, isgenerallysector-'shaped andis made of .suincientV area so that itslateral sideedges 24 extend beneath the forward `edges 20 of the sideand .'forepart portions i8. .As illustrated, the edges 24.extendlaterally almost to the hip bone and the edges 2E) drape `from the waistto the leg openings thereby affording substantially lenticu-r.lar-shaped opposed areas at each `side of the central portion of thegarment thus eliminating gaping by relative movement of the parts.

The overlap midway between the waist and leg openings is approximatelytwice the altitude of the chordal area (defined by an vedge 20 and achord .r-: drawn through the fastenersat `the leg and waist end) .andtapers from this mid- 4:maximum overlap to a minimumv atthe legandwaist. Thus the greatest overlap is midway between the fasteners andhence at the place where gap would be most likely to occur.

The garment produced as described heretofore in contrast to the greatmajority of garments of this kind made heretofore has the forepartportions overlapping the front part rather than underlyingit, theadvantagesof which are that .there are ,no upwardly3facing pocketflikeopenings into which objects such as pins or food may ,drop and thus gainentrance to the inside of the Ygarment to the danger and discomfort ofthe infant. lFurthermore, while there have been garments maderwhereinthe side parts are fas- -tenedtotheoutside of the front, Vthe overlap is:small fand Lto prevent gap a large number of fasteners .had to be usedwhich is undesirable.

,prisinga back and side and forepart portions,

the body portion having convexly curved lateral f edges and asubstantiallyA rectilinear upper-edge, .a front portion having 4a deeplyconvex lower" edge, of approximately half-circular` contour, anda'crotchportion integrally-joining the front and body portions, saidcrotchportion having lat- \eral,.deeply concave edges intersecting therespective lateral edges of the .body portion `at .substantially rightangles, andintersecting the opposite'ends respectively of the yconvexedgeof theffront portionat substantially yright angles, ithe garmentbeing characterized in that, when ,in use,the forepart portions ofthebodyportion `overliethe irontportiongof the garment tozfcrm -atwo-plyarea of lenticular shape and of a maximum width, midway between thewaistbandiand leg opening which is the sum of the altitudes Lof `thearcuate `edges of the `overlapped portions,

Land with the upper cornersof the body portion held in the position ofuse byithree fasteners, only, locate'drespectively, one at thefront ofthe waistband, and theothers .at the frontsof the leg openings, wherebythe lateraledges of ythe -bod-y portionvY-arefreefto move, relatively tothe front portion from'the waistbandfastener to-the respective legopening fastener.

2. A one-piece garment havingv a body portion Acomprising a back-andside and forepart portions, lthe body portion having a substantiallystraight upper edge-and convex lateral edges, the garment alsocomprising a front or abdominal portionhaving afconvex lower edge, ofapproximatelyvhalfcircular curvature, and al crotch portion integrallyjoining the body portion andfront portion, saidcrotch portion havingdeeply concavel edges, Aapproximately :half-circular in contourandwhichlat-their upper ends-intersect the lateral edges of thebodyportion, and at their lower endsintersect the convex edge of the frontportion, characterized in that a contractile elementis associated'with:the upper edge of the :bodyportion toforman elastic waistband and .thatcontractilerelements areassociated with the concat/ ely curveddges ofthe crotchzportion'to form elastic leg openings, the lateral parts ofthe body portion extending forwardly when the garment is in use withmarginal areas arranged to overlie substantial areas of the frontportion of the garment, the areas of overlap being lenticular in shapeand each of a maximum width, approximately midway between the waistlineand leg opening, substantially equalling the sum of the altitudes of thearcuate edges of the overlapped portions, the body portion havingfastener elements at opposite ends of its upper edge and the frontportion having a waistband fastener element substantially midway betweenthe ends of its convex edge, the latter fastener element beingengageable simultaneously with the aforesaid two 15 fastener elements atopposite ends of the body portion thereby to join the front portion tothe body portion at the waistline, and complemental fastener elements atopposite ends of the conoavely curved edges of the crotch portionoperative to unite the lower corners of the body portion to the uppercorners of the front portion thereby to define the leg openings, themarginal areas of the body portion which overlap the front portion beingfree of any connection to the front portion between the waistbandfastening and the respective leg opening fasteners.

WILLIAM F. GOWDY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 4,424 Hempel June 13, 1871342,494 Baldwin May 25, 1886 1,163,793 Taylor Dec. 14, 1915 2,453,372Javin Nov. 9, 1948

